Work environment and safety climate in the Swedish merchant fleet.

PURPOSE: To get knowledge of the work environment for seafarers sailing under the Swedish flag, in terms of safety climate, ergonomical, chemical and psychosocial exposures, and the seafarers self-rated health and work ability. METHODS: A Web-based questionnaire was sent to all seafarers with a personal e-mail address in the Swedish Maritime Registry (N = 5608). Comparisons were made mainly within the study population, using Student's t test, prevalence odds ratios and logistic regressions with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The response rate was 35% (N = 1972; 10% women, 90% men), with 61% of the respondents working on deck, 31% in the engine room and 7% in the catering/service department (1% not classifiable). Strain on neck, arm or back and heavy lifting were associated with female gender (p = 0.0001) and younger age (below or above 30 years of age, p < 0.0001). Exposures to exhausts, oils and dust were commonly reported. Major work problems were noise, risk of an accident and vibrations from the hull of the ship. The safety climate was high in comparison with that in land-based occupations. One-fourth had experienced personal harassment or bullying during last year of service. CONCLUSIONS: Noise, risk of accidents, hand/arm and whole-body vibrations and psychosocial factors such as harassment were commonly reported work environment problems among seafarers within the Swedish merchant fleet.

Evaluating a digital ship design tool prototype: Designers' perceptions of novel ergonomics software.

Computer-aided solutions are essential for naval architects to manage and optimize technical complexities when developing a ship's design. Although there are an array of software solutions aimed to optimize the human element in design, practical ergonomics methodologies and technological solutions have struggled to gain widespread application in ship design processes. This paper explores how a new ergonomics technology is perceived by naval architecture students using a mixed-methods framework. Thirteen Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Masters students participated in the study. Overall, results found participants perceived the software and its embedded ergonomics tools to benefit their design work, increasing their empathy and ability to understand the work environment and work demands end-users face. However, participant's questioned if ergonomics could be practically and efficiently implemented under real-world project constraints. This revealed underlying social biases and a fundamental lack of understanding in engineering postgraduate students regarding applied ergonomics in naval architecture.

The physical work environment and end-user requirements: Investigating marine engineering officers' operational demands and ship design.

BACKGROUND: Physical environments influence how individuals perceive a space and behave within it. Previous research has revealed deficiencies in ship engine department work environments, and their impact on crew productivity, health and wellbeing. OBJECTIVE: Connect operational task demands to pragmatic physical design and layout solutions by implementing a user-centric perspective. METHODS: Three focus groups, each consisting of three marine engineers participated in this study. Focus groups were divided into two sessions: first, to investigate the end-user's operational requirements and their relationship with ship physical design and layout. Second, criteria formulated from group discussions were applied to a ship design case study. All focus group sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using Grounded Theory. RESULTS: Design choices made in a ships general arrangement were described to inherently influence how individuals and teams are able to function within the system. Participants detailed logistical relationships between key areas, stressing that the work environment and physical linkages must allow for flexibility of work organization and task execution. CONCLUSIONS: Traditional engine control paradigms do not allow effective mitigation of traditional engine department challenges. The influence of technology and modernization of ship systems can facilitate improvement of physical environments and work organization if effectively utilized.

A static organization in a dynamic context--A qualitative study of changes in working conditions for Swedish engine officers.

During the last decades the shipping industry has undergone rapid technical developments and experienced hard economic conditions and increased striving for profitability. This has led to reduced staffing and changes in task performance, which has been reported to increase workload for the remaining seafarers. The working conditions on board have a number of distinct and in many ways unique characteristics, which makes the job demands and resources for seafarers unique in several ways. The purpose of this study was to assess how engine room staff perceives how these major technical and organizational changes in the shipping industry have affected job demands as well as resources. The study compiled individual interviews and focus groups interviews with engine crew members where they were asked to elaborate on the psychosocial work environment and the major changes in the working conditions on board. Engine crew describes a work situation where they feel a lack of resources. The content of the work has changed, staffing has been reduced, new tasks are being added but the organization of the crew and the design of the work place remains unaltered.

Work demands are related to mental health problems for older engine room officers.

The aim of the present study was to analyse the main and interaction effects of age and psychosocial work demands on mental wellbeing in a sample (N = 685; age M = 47 years) of engine room officers in the Swedish merchant fleet. As expected, work demands were highly related to general mental health as well as to perceived stress, while the main effect of age only related significantly to perceived stress. The interaction effects between high work demands and high age significantly explained the variance of general mental health as well as perceived stress. The results can be understood as a consequence of the rapid technological and organisational development in the shipping industry and suggest that it ought be of high priority to provide older employees with work-related resources to support their long-term work performance as well as their health and wellbeing.

Working conditions in the engine department - A qualitative study among engine room personnel on board Swedish merchant ships.

The specific problems associated with the work on board within the merchant fleet are well known and have over the years been a topic of discussion. The work conditions in the engine room (ER) are demanding due to, e.g. the thermal climate, noise and awkward working postures. The work in the engine control room (ECR) has over recent years undergone major changes, mainly due to the introduction of computers on board. In order to capture the impact these changes had implied, and also to investigate how the work situation has developed, a total of 20 engine officers and engine ratings were interviewed. The interviews were semi-structured and Grounded Theory was used for the data analysis. The aim of the present study was to describe how the engine crew perceive their work situation and working environment on board. Further, the aim was to identify areas for improvements which the engine crew consider especially important for a safe and effective work environment. The result of the study shows that the design of the ECR and ER is crucial for how different tasks are performed. Design which does not support operational procedures and how tasks are performed risk inducing inappropriate behaviour as the crew members' are compelled to find alternative ways to perform their tasks in order to get the job done. These types of behaviour can induce an increased risk of exposure to hazardous substances and the engine crew members becoming injured.

An ocean of stress? The relationship between psychosocial workload and mental strain among engine officers in the Swedish merchant fleet.

OBJECTIVES: The first purpose of this study was to compare the psychosocial working conditions and mental health of our sample of maritime engine officers with a sample of British shore-based professional engineers. The second purpose was to analyse the relationship between the psychosocial working conditions onboard and mental strain for the Swedish maritime engine officers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were a total of 731 engine officers in the Swedish merchant fleet, almost all males with higher education. The British comparison sample consisted of 312 professional shore-based engineers. A questionnaire was distributed to the Swedish engine officers with a modified version of the JCQ for the DC-S model, the Role conflict and Ambiguity scale, and two items on family-work inter-role conflicts (WFI/FWI), as workload indicators. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10) were used as strain indicators. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in perceived job stain or in WFI/FWI between the Swedish engine officers and the British professional engineers in perceived job strain. While the British shore-based engineers reported significantly higher role ambiguity the Swedish engine officers perceived a significantly higher degree of role conflict and higher perceived stress. Hierarchic linear regression analysis showed that the Role Stress was strongly related to perceived stress (R(2) = 0.319) as well as to mental health (R(2) = 0.222). When introduced in the second step the DC-S model was significantly related to the outcome measures, as was WFI/FWI when finally introduced. CONCLUSIONS: The main source of the high degree of perceived stress among the engine officers does not seem to be the job content but may rather be understood from an interactional perspective, where conflicting requirements are directed towards the individual officer. It can be assumed that the fast technological and organizational changes and the increased pressure for economic profitability that characterize the shipping industry have attenuated these role conflicts.